Oecophylla longinoda

St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla longinoda

Friend or Foe? Oecophylla longinoda workers encounter each other on a tree branch and take a quick sniff of the other's scent. St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla longinoda

St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla longinoda

Backlighting a weaver ant reveals her respiratory system in great detail. St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla longinoda

Oecophylla longinoda is polymorphic in the worker caste. Large workers perform many of the outside tasks of guarding and foraging, while small workers stick close to the nest. St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla longinoda

Tailor or weaver ants are fiercely territorial. Here, workers have pinned down a Polyrhachis intruder that has stumbled onto their tree. St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla longinoda

Oecophylla longinoda, the tailor ant, is fiercely territorial. Here, workers have pinned down a Polyrhachis intruder that has stumbled onto their tree. St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla longinoda

St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla longinoda ants hold fast to a Polyrhachis worker that has intruded on their territory. St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla longinoda workers cooperate to bring an ant they have killed back to their nest. Ants don't normally eat members of their own species, but they will readily consume members of other species. St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla longinoda St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla longinoda St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla longinoda St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Protected inside a translucent silken tent, Oecophylla longinoda weaver ants gather honeydew from mealybugs. The ants weave the tent using silk produced by their larvae. St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla longinoda patrol a tree trunk. St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla longinoda worker, grooming St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Nestmate transport in Oecophylla longinoda weaver ants: a major gives a lift to a minor worker. This form of transport is thought to be more energy efficient than if both ants were to walk individually. St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla longinoda St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

This ant nest- crafted from living leaves in an African forest- is held together by silk spun by the larvae. This unusual nesting habit has earned these insects (Oecophylla longinoda) the common names 'weaver ant' and 'tailor ant.' St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

This ant nest- crafted from living leaves in an African forest- is held together by silk spun by the larvae. This unusual nesting habit has earned these insects (Oecophylla longinoda) the common names 'weaver ant' and 'tailor ant.' St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla longinoda

An angry Oecophylla longinoda guard defends her colony from an intrusive photographer. St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Protected inside a translucent silken tent, Oecophylla longinoda weaver ants gather honeydew from mealybugs. The ants weave the tent using silk produced by their larvae. St. Lucia, KZN, South Africa

Oecophylla smaragdina

Cairns, Queensland, Australia.

Oecophylla smaragdina

A green tree ant guard stands alert in the presence of the photographer. Cairns, Queensland, Australia.

Oecophylla smaragdina, the green tree ant of northern Australia. Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia